32 HATYRUS HOFFMAN 1. 



I was at first of the opinion that this might be S. Gabbii,* Edw., but Mr. ^read informs 

 me that Mr. Edwards also lias examples of it, taken by the Wheeler Expedition in 1871, and 

 he says that it is a different thing from (Jabbii ; as I have no example of this latter, nor so 

 far have I had any opportunity of comparing the two, but, on carefully reading Enwards' 

 description of Gabbii, I find there is, at any rate, one constant difference, that is in the ocellus 

 nearest the costa, on primaries, being geminate in Hoffmani ; I have oned" and ten ? examples, 

 and in evcrv one of the eleven is that ocellus double, but I am still inclined to believe it a 

 .segregated form of Gabbii, at least until I have opportunity to compare it with male and 

 female examples of the latter. It is, to say the least, difficult to draw lines between Alope, 

 Pecala, Nephele, Boopis and this one ; the ornamentation is about the same in all of them, in 

 size thev don't vary much, the principal difference is in the shades of the ground color ; and, 

 in suo-f-esting this, I am but echoing the opinion of one of the greatest living Lepidopterists. 



June 10, 1873. 



1 am afraid this No. (lY) will nut be considered altogether orthodox by many of the 

 Entomologists of the United States who persist in seeing nothing to please or interest them in 

 an insect not found within the boundaries of our States or Territories, but in presenting the 

 five figures numlicred 2, 3 and 4 on plate lY, I am probably only anticipating, for some day 

 or other Mexico will be annexed to, or swallowed up by this Government, and then what a 

 trouble there will be among our patriotic entomologists when they will have to add so many 

 more rare and costly species to their purely Federal collections. 



However, to make amends, the forthcoming July No. (V) will contain figures and de- 

 scriptions of N. American Catocalidaj, and will have as many species crowded into the plate 

 as the size of the sheet will admit. 



•Described in Trans. Am. Ent. Soc, Vol. Ill, p. 193. (1870.) 



